Income tax is a method for gaining funds with which to support governmental endeavors. Adults can vote to support delegates and legislation that decide how much tax is collected and how the money is used. Minors, however, denied the privilege of voting, are given no way to communicate what they deem a worthy application of their tax money. Without the right to vote, the taxes minors are forced to pay are unjust.

“No taxation without representation” was the famous slogan of the American colonies. By taxing settlers without giving them seats in parliament#, the British could effectively subject the colonies to whatever horrendous taxes they wished without legitimate protest of the colonists. The minors of America face the same oppression today. Without representation, the taxes they pay are just as ridiculous as those of 300 years ago. And while the threat of revolution and bayonet-wielding villagers doesn’t loom today as it did long ago, the underlying principles and governmental injustices remain the same.

The majority of minors work in minimum wage, less-than-ideal environments while juggling the pressures of school and college preparation. Flipping hamburgers while a government you have no choice but to oblige keeps its hand in your pocket is far from the accepted definition of fair. Employed minors work just as hard as the rest of society, in conditions often less desirable, yet are not given the same rights due to their age.

Supporters of income tax for minors cite the illegitimate need for many minors to enter the workforce in the first place. Such blanket ideas defeat the freedoms upon which America is based, and ultimately such ideologies as an open economy. It is not the place of government to decide the validity of individual needs and desires.

The dilemma is a blatant one: Minors are doing the same work as adults, but unlike adults, the money that is dutifully deducted from their paychecks is being used in ways that they never approved of. Solutions are few but basic. Either minors should not be allowed to work (however contradictory that is to the Constitution), or employed minors should be given the opportunity to vote and give rise to the voice that has been so far ignored.